The eternally delightfulÂ Maggie Gyllenhaal went on The Daily Show last night to promote her new movie Hysteria, and for once, Jon Stewart was at a loss for words.

Based on actual historical events, HysteriaÂ tells the story of the serendipitous invention of the vibrator, which was once used to cure everything from toothaches to depression.Â Stewart started strong with a joke about how the movie takes place in “a time when men made the decisions about women’s health without the knowledge or the emotional ability” (the more things change!) but quickly grew flustered when discussing the nitty-gritty of how doctors used to give woman orgasms, or as he so eloquently put it, “the female…what happens.”

Despite being unable to say any of the actual words for things, Stewart soldiered on for a while until giving up and saying “fuck this, how’s your brother?” Ever the professional, Maggie guided the conversation back towards the topic at hand. I guess it just goes to show you that even the most intelligent and well-spoken of men can regress back to middle school when trying to talk about female sexuality.

..”Ever the professional, Maggie guided the conversation back towards the topic at hand…”…really? Seems to me Ms Gyllenhaal was equally flustered promoting her latest film, “Hysteria”, about the origins of vibrators, as told in “The Technology of Orgasm: ‘Hysteria,’ the Vibrator, and Women’s Sexual Satisfaction”, an intellectual account written by (Professor) Rachel P. Maines, that inspired the Broadway play, “In the Next Room”, which in turn inspired the movie . You’d think Ms Gyllenhaal herself was a product of Victorian prudery with the way she insisted on hiding behind a piece of her hair and blushing at the mere mention of …well, they never did mention “it”, did they, as they both foolishly giggled and blushed their way through a ridiculous and inappropriate act of false modesty? Come on, guys…this is 2012 and the sale of vibrators have gone through the roof in the last 15 years. I see this as a shamefully missed opportunity to share a fascinating story unknown to most people, both the history of how vibrators came to be, and how Professor Maines came across this information while researching the history of needlepoint in late 19th century women’s magazines. We also didn’t get to hear that Professor Maines was removed from her teaching position due the – ahem – juicy content of her book.

I’m a big fan of Jon Stewart, but I felt really let down by his sophomoric behavior that night. And as for Ms Gyllenhaal, she also let us down by not seizing the opportunity to discuss a long misunderstood topic that clearly continues to be shrouded in needless shame and misplaced modesty. I think Mr Stewart should have any number of sexuality professionals on his show to speak intelligently about a subject he seems to know little about; and Ms Gyllenhaal should read Professor Maines’ book and learn a thing or two about the subject of her movie before continuing to publicly embarrass herself. Private message to Maggie: For a really good lesson, I’d be happy to send you one of my “elegant and discreet” Natural Contours vibrators so you really get what all the hoopla is about!